Photo Credit: Courtesy of Beals Alliance
On November 15, 2008, the Carmichael Recreation and Park District in California dedicated Patriots Park. To some, it was simply a new neighborhood park with mature oak trees, a historic almond orchard, a large play area, butterfly garden, half-court basketball court, open lawn areas and a dedicated area for remembering fallen soldiers and community leaders. But it was an idea that took nearly 30 years to come to the surface.
In 1984, a district-wide parks master plan provided direction to develop the park and four other sites. Yet 23 years later, there was no park--only vacant land that was decaying and being abused by vandals.
Then in 2006, the district hired a new park administrator on a contractual basis. Jack Harrison had retired from the California State Parks Department in 2000 and subsequently served as Interim Director for Marin County, Solano County, Merced and Lodi. He was the tree superintendent for the city of Sacramento from 2004 to 2006. He was also a resident of Carmichael. He had several ideas related to park development and decided to explore them in his own backyard.